Hangzhou, China, September 7, 2023: Chinese Olympic champions will take part in the Hangzhou Asian Games torch relay, which begins on Friday, September 8.

Swimmer Wang Shun, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist in the men's 200m individual medley, reigning Olympic women's badminton champion Chen Yufei and Tokyo 2020 men's team table tennis champion Fan Zhendong have all been named as torchbearers.

Wang, 29, hails from Ningbo in Zhejiang province - one of the five co-host cities of the 19th Asian Games – while 25-year-old Chen's hometown is Hangzhou. They are sure to add some star quality to the proceedings.

The torch relay will start at Yongjin Park on Friday morning with a distance of 5.2 km and a total of 106 torchbearers. The relay will end with a flame-lighting ceremony at Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake, one of the 10 scenic spots of West Lake.

The torch relay will tour 11 cities in Zhejiang province before returning to Hangzhou for a special event on September 20, when one representative from each of the OCA's 45 National Olympic Committees will run for 50 metres.

The relay will end at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, nicknamed Big Lotus, where the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games will be held on September 23. The final six torchbearers will take part in the ceremony to light the Asian Games cauldron.

There will be 2,022 torchbearers, signifying the year in which the 19th Asian Games were due to be held, before being postponed for one year due to the global pandemic.